tactics, no, not the mod... Options

[Monkeetroop]

Hi, I'm relatively new to this forum and have been keeping tabs on it since version 4.2. This mod is by far and large one of my favorite ones and I install other mods around it. Despite it being one of my more well liked mods, I still feel I lack the knowledge/skills to play the mod well. I understand that learning new things as you play is part of the process, but it'd be very helpful if I got a few tips here and there. I've been reading various posts on and trying to find out what strategies the veterans here use, but haven't found to many things. If someone could either point me in the right direction (topic wise) or wouldn't mind posting here, that'd be great! I'm sure that there are others out there besides myself who are trying to improve but would greatly appreciate any help thrown our way. Thanks again for an outstanding mod.

[Raven]

Hi, Monkeytroop!

Could you be a bit more specific about the sort of help you'd like? Are there particular enemies in the mod you can't beat, or are you unsure what sort of party composition to use? I wrote a topic about the suggested quest order for first-time players, maybe that would be of some use (it's one of the pinned topics)...

There are a couple of tactics-type threads from the past, such as here. Although be aware the advice there may no longer be relevant in the current version of the mod.

[Monkeetroop]

Maybe I'll have questions for certain fights when I get further in my run, and as for party composition I think I'm good. I've read various posts on how people are composing their parties and mine is as follows. PC-Vagrant, Jaheira (F/C...much more useful), Valygar, Minsc (Sked to Berserker), Nalia, and a sorceress. So I guess to be more specific, what spell combinations are good against certain types of enemies? I can't keep up with all the golems for starters. =P For example, I ran into an amber golem and had no idea how to kill it. Stuff like that I guess.

@Raven:
What spell combinations do you tend to use during big fights? Thanks again for the help!

[Raven]

I've read various posts on how people are composing their parties and mine is as follows. PC-Vagrant, Jaheira (F/C...much more useful), Valygar, Minsc (Sked to Berserker), Nalia, and a sorceress.

That looks like a very strong party.

So I guess to be more specific, what spell combinations are good against certain types of enemies? I can't keep up with all the golems for starters. =P For example, I ran into an amber golem and had no idea how to kill it. Stuff like that I guess.

Ah, I see. Most of the IA golems are very difficult to destroy with magic (this is why there are new specifically anti-golem spells in the game). I would recommend trying several different types of weapons (blunt, piercing, slashing and missile). Different material golems are weaker against different weapons. You will need weapons of high enchantment (merely +1 or +2 weapons may not be enough), so if you don't have these yet you may well be trying to take the golems on too early.

In general I find it easiest to have a character protected with Mirror Image and Stoneskin (with more memorised to renew when necessary) stand next to the golem and draw its attacks.

@Raven:
What spell combinations do you tend to use during big fights? Thanks again for the help!

OK this is a good question. Bear in mind that what I would do may not be what others would necessarily do. I am a big fan of defensive magic, even for my sorcerers. So when I tested IA I had my sorcerer running many protection spells, including spell protections like Minor Spell Turning and Spell Immunity: Abjuration. I found this useful because it meant enemy spellcasters had to 'waste' their time removing my protections rather than just blasting away with offensive spells. Those few extra rounds were vital for making sure my fighting characters lasted long enough to win the battle.

As far as buffing melee characters, spells like Chaotic Commands, Free Action and Death Ward are useful, later on also Protection from Magic Energy and Improved Haste.

Something it's important to be aware of is the way magic defences work in IA. The 'standard' magic defence which you will notice many enemies employing is something along the lines of Spell Turning, Globe of Invulnerability, SI:A.

This combination means three Ruby Ray spells are required to get rid of the SI:A, since RR targets the highest level protection. The Spell Turning (7th level) is removed by the first ray, then the Globe (6th level) by the second ray and finally the SI:A (5th level) by the third. Note that Ruby Ray is the ONLY spell which can remove spell protections when SI:A has been cast. This is because all other protection-removing spells actually belong to the Abjuration school and are blocked by SI:A in IA (unlike in the unmodded game).

When I started playing IA I didn't know a huge amount about the spell system. I actually tried to copy the enemy's spell protections to see how they dealt with them . This worked pretty well - there is no quick way to get through the system of spell protections described above and enemy mages are forced to cast RR after RR to get rid of SI:A. Until SI:A is brought down, Breach and Remove/Dispel Magic will have no effect, as you may well be aware.

Feel free to ask if anything I said is unclear.

This post has been edited by Raven: Dec 7 2007, 07:55 PM

[Sikret]

Hi, Monkeetroop!

Welcome to BWL and IA forum.

PC-Vagrant, Jaheira (F/C...much more useful), Valygar, Minsc (Sked to Berserker), Nalia, and a sorceress.

A multi-class cleric will progress a bit too slowly for your needs of divine spells. I suggest to change it with a dual class fighter->cleric (either Anomen or a custom NPC). Interestingly, if you do so, your party will turn to be exactly identical with mine . In that case, you can even follow me regarding your quest orders for your first run-through if you want and if you find the game difficult at its early stages.

If you decide to make a custom NPC instead taking Anomen, you can make him a Berserker dualed to cleric which is a bit better than a vanilla fighter. However, taking Anomen has the advantage of upgrading his shield.

Cheers

[Monkeetroop]

@Raven

Ah, thanks for the tips on spells. I'm to early in my run to have RR right now but will be using it a lot when i do get it. I noticed that many spells that I've never used before and never thought of using are used greatly in this mod. For example, I never thought to use Greater Malison along with Emotion (until done to me many times). Are there any other spells which have interesting tactics/combos that I may not have generally thought to use (especially in the vanilla game)?

@Sikret

Hm, maybe I will change it to a dualed fighter/cleric. That makes a lot of sense. Yes, my party is just about the same as yours. =) I figure since I'm still new to IA, following the mod's creator's party composition wouldn't be a bad idea.

As for quest orders, I have been following both Raven's and yours respectively. I'm glad that you guys decided to post topics like that up. Again, thanks for the help!

[Aegor]

You could also consider keeping Jaheira as a F/D since the Iron Skins spell is a real life saver here. Or maybe you can make her a Ranger/Cleric and get the best of both worlds

This post has been edited by Aegor: Dec 8 2007, 02:02 PM

[Raven]

@Raven

Ah, thanks for the tips on spells. I'm to early in my run to have RR right now but will be using it a lot when i do get it. I noticed that many spells that I've never used before and never thought of using are used greatly in this mod. For example, I never thought to use Greater Malison along with Emotion (until done to me many times). Are there any other spells which have interesting tactics/combos that I may not have generally thought to use (especially in the vanilla game)?

In general if you're going to use offensive magic (Emotion etc.) it makes sense to go with Greater Malison first. I like Doom too, it's very quick to cast and only takes a level 1 slot. It adds a -2 save penalty that stacks with the -4 from GM. I tend to have my Ranger memorise it so my dedicated spellcasters don't have to waste a round better spent on something else. Problem with these spells is that they are stopped by magic resistance so in a battle with multiple magic-resistant enemies they are not particularly useful.

Against enemies who attack many times a round (like 6+) and do not have high fire/cold resistances I have found Fireshield:Red and Fireshield:Blue cast together, along with usual defensive mage buffs, are actually quite effective at dealing damage (the enemies attack so often they hurt themselves a lot).

One particularly nasty (arguably overpowered) defensive spell combination is Spell Immunity: Abjuration and Polymorph Self: Jelly. I probably shouldn't say too much about how to (ab)use this one...

This post has been edited by Raven: Dec 8 2007, 01:05 PM

[Monkeetroop]

Never realized that Doom and Gm stacked with each other. That's great to know. I would have never have thought of the SI: Abjuration and Polymorph Self: Jelly. It's spell combinations similar to that, that I like to hear about. These are very interesting things you're pointing out to me. If anyone else out there has anything they'd like to share, I'd love to hear it! Thanks again guys!

[ROAHDEA]

Always equip your main frontline caracters wi8th different kind of weapons (because of different type of damage they deal and resistances that certain new types of enemies have against for example crushing !or slashing damage) Because pof that I always put at least one prof. point in every type of weapon for my main frontline caracters .

This post has been edited by ROAHDEA: Dec 13 2007, 10:47 AM